Breof, which stands for Brookfield Real Estate Opportunity Fund, is an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management. The property's buyer is an affiliate of Farbman Group, based in Southfield, Mich., a Detroit suburb.

Farbman said he likes downtown Milwaukee's walkable nature, with its connections to the Historic Third Ward and lakefront. Farbman also mentioned such downtown developments as the future Milwaukee Bucks arena and Northwestern Mutual's office tower that is under construction.

"We're just really bullish on where we thought Milwaukee was," he said, "and where it's going."

Chase Tower is at the southwest corner of E. Wisconsin Ave. and N. Water St., overlooking the Milwaukee River. Farbman's purchase includes the tower's connected parking structure, at 543 N. Water St.

His short-term plans include upgrading Chase Tower's lobby and adding amenities to it. Farbman declined to provide details, saying he is seeking feedback from the building's tenants before proceeding with those plans.

Chase Tower and its five-level, 746-space parking structure have a combined $36.6 million assessed value, according to city records.

The $30.5 million sale price, at around 17% below the assessed value, seems somewhat low until the ages of the building and its parking structure are considered, said William Bonifas, executive vice president of CBRE Inc.'s Milwaukee office. CBRE, a commercial real estate brokerage, was not involved in the transaction.

Chase Tower was built in 1961.

Chase Bank serves as its anchor tenant. Other larger tenants include Empower Retirement, which moved there last year from Glendale, and Infinity HealthCare, said Bob Flood, of RFP Commercial Inc., Chase Tower's leasing agent.

The building's occupancy rate is 86%, Flood said.

Brookfield bought the office tower and parking structure in 2006 at the peak of the commercial real estate market for $45.8 million.

Farbman's entry into the Milwaukee market is a welcome sign, Bonifas said. And the relatively low purchase price gives the firm the ability to continue making improvements to the building and its parking structure, he said.